 A Postcard and a Prayer | |
| Mennonite Women USA | May 2011
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"The tulip, a tolerant flower,
will thrive in just about any environment, such as in the Netherlands, where the soil
is reportedly 'bad.'
"This lone tulip, growing amidst the gravel in Rhoda Keener's driveway, was a welcoming sentinel as arrived at Rhoda's home in the dark on May 8, for a week of orientation.
"Like this tulip that has survived well despite its location, Mennonite Women USA is thriving as an organization, serving women of the Mennonite Church, and empowering women for new avenues of service and learning."
- Ruth Lapp Guengerich, Co-Executive Director,
Mennonite Women USA
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Ruth Lapp Guengerich anointed for ministry 
At their April 1-2 meeting, Mennonite Women USA Board members participated in an anointing service, led by Central District Conference minister, Lois Johns Kaufmann.
Ruth Lapp Guengerich, ending her term as board chair and preparing for her new role as co-executive director of MW USA, is anointed for her new ministry responsibilities. Ruth and Rhoda Keener request your continued prayers as they develop this new working relationship.
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In timbrel
 Be sure to read the latest issue of timbrel magazine which focuses on Loving Our Bodies, Loving Ourselves. "Our bodies, the vessels of our spirits on this journey through our lives, are our most intimate partners. Mysteriously, they create a oneness with our spirits to encompass the vast realm of the human experience," explains Kirsten Klassen in her article.
 "Without open communication about body image, we assume that our insecurities are unique to us," says Jessica Gotwals. "When all women may feel the same way, I've begun to understand that issues of body affect women profoundly."
The sister question for the July/August issue of timbrel on Healing is
What (or who) has helped me in my healing journey?
Send your responses to Patty by May 18. Be sure to include your name and hometown. Consider giving a subscription to a special young woman in your life as a graduation gift. To subscribe to timbrel, send $15 for one year or $13 per person for a group of 10 or more to Mennonite Women USA, 718 N Main St., Newton, KS 67114. You can also e-mail or call 866.866.2872, ext. 34396. We'll start your subscription and send you a bill.
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Rhoda Charles new chair for Mennonite Women USA
Rhoda Charles of Lancaster, PA, incoming chair for Mennonite Women USA, holds an oil lamp given to her by Ruth Lapp Guengerich, Goshen, Ind., outgoing chair of the board. Guengerich encouraged Rhoda Charles to allow the light of God's love and wisdom to guide her as she assumes her new responsibilities. Rhoda Charles said, "My yearnings as chair of Mennonite Women USA (MW USA) are to encourage trust among women in the Mennonite Church and to live joyfully as we are led by God's Spirit. I want us to share our stories. We are in this together!" Charles, former vice chair of the MW USA board, will complete the term of Guengerich, who served as chair from August 1, 2008, to April 2, 2011.
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"Every Stitch a Prayer" 
Congo cloth project
Women know the art of prayerful stitching. When the women of the Gulf States suffered the chaos of hurricanes, Mennonite women knitted prayer shawls to wrap them in our love. Women for centuries have stitched quilts to pass down the generations as baby comforters and wedding blessings. In this age of the global church, stitches make even broader designs.
"Every Stitch a Prayer" began when Christine Nofsinger visited the Democratic Republic of Congo for her friend, Rosetta Lind's, high school graduation in 2009. Rose's parents, Tim and Suzanne, are old friends of Chris now serving as MCC country reps in Kinshasa. "My senses were over-whelmed," says Chris, "with the sounds, colors and smells of Congo. And I fell in love immediately with the cloth the women wore."
As a quilter, Chris immediately imagined a world of projects with what we are calling "Congo cloth." While little of this cloth is now produced in Congo due to economic hardships, the bold wax print style cloth has been the hallmark of Congolese beauty for years.
In 2009 Chris came home with three suitcases jammed full of cloth. Now, every time Tim or Suzanne or others with Congo connections travels, they also return with yards of cloth. There is no other way to get cloth here as there is no postal or delivery service between the US and Congo. We now estimate we have 1,000 yards of cloth. And we have a plan.
"Every Stitch a Prayer" will host a booth at Pittsburgh for the MCUSA Convention, July 4 -9. At our booth your connections can begin. A quilt will be stitched and a comforter knotted. These, along with other gorgeous wall hangings made by Goshen's Mennonite Church and Silverwood Mennonite Church women will be auctioned on Thursday evening. Fabric will be for  sale, with new designs added each day. Other ready made items will also be for sale.
As cloth is sold for ten dollars a yard, the benefit, in addition to our joy in Congolese beauty, will be for two sewing projects in Congo. In Kinshasa, the Bondeko Mennonite Church sponsors BOMEN Sewing Group. They train young women who are single mothers to make a living through tailoring. In eastern Congo, the National Council of Churches, a Mennonite Central Committee partner, also sponsors sewing groups to train women to provide for themselves.
Learn more about the project.
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Mennonite Women USA increase international scholarships:  Fourteen Latin Americans and Africans
receive support
Newton, Kansas - Fourteen women from Latin America and Africa have received scholarships from the 2011 allotments of the International Women's Fund (IWF) of Mennonite Women USA (MW USA), a women's ministry of Mennonite Church USA. Of these all belong to national member churches of the Mennonite World Conference.
The $10,000 of scholarships offered this year reflects an increase of $3,000 over 2010 awards, supporting several African women who were previously part of the African Women Theologians Sister Link with MW USA. This Sister Link ended in 2009. Read the entire article.
See all recipients.
Mimie Mukendi and Nathalie Kananga, both from Congo, were part of the African Women Theologians Sister Link with Mennonite Women USA that ended in 2009. They are both 2011 International Women's Fund recipients.
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Register for Pittsburgh Women's Dinner by May 31
Pittsburgh 2011 is only two months away! If you are planning to attend the convention, be sure to register for the Mennonite Women USA dinner on Tuesday, July 5, (5:30-7:30 p.m.). Speakers Elizabeth Soto Albrecht and Meghan Good will share how their life experiences have connected with Mennonite Women USA's Sister Care seminars.
Meet the new board chair, Rhoda Charles, and co-executive directors Ruth Lapp Guengerich and Rhoda Keener. The offering will support sharing Sister Care internationally. You need to pre-register to attend. Questions about registration: contact Carol Epp or call 866.866.2872 ext 23048.
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Give to Mennonite Women USA
Mennonite Women USA's ministry is possible through your generous donations. Contribute on-line.
Make a pledge on our website. 
Or mail your contribution to the office at
Mennonite Women USA, 718 N. Main St.,
Newton, KS 67114-1819.
Please consider this ministry in your giving.
Gifts are tax deductible.
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The Kitchen Table
by Lorraine Eby
Franklin Conference Sister Care Coordinator
Burning Bush, May 2011
I was inducted into motherhood when I held our firstborn infant son in my arms, November 30, 1964. As I unwrapped the soft blanket and checked to be sure the body parts were all there, my needs became second and I looked at the world with new eyes. Life would forever be changed. The wonder and awe of this helpless infant was almost overwhelming. But my mother-love muscles soon began to grow with the 24/7 caring responsibilities to keep him safe and well.
Joan Borysenko, who holds a doctorate in anatomy and cellular biology, describes the mother-infant relationship in her book, Minding the Body, Mending the Mind.
"As the caring continues mothers often become the primary caretaker. The infant becomes bonded to the caretaker and has no separate sense of self. The mother and baby are one. The mommy mirrors baby. If the baby coos, we coo. If baby cries with hunger, mother responds with milk. If baby is tired and needs to sleep, mother leaves baby to rest. If baby is fascinated with her toes, mother takes delight in the fascination without interrupting it. But if mother is out of sync with the baby rhythm - absent when baby 'needs' or intrusive when baby needs space - then baby feels out of joint with life..."
Read more...
Used by permission of the Burning Bush, Franklin Conference newsletter.
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 A letter to my daughter Being a Christian means more than just a label. by Jenn Esbenshade The Mennonite, May 2011  I took you to the petting zoo today. Like usual, you dressed yourself in your mismatched clothes. You put your elastic headband around the top of your head, making you look more like a hippie child than the princess with a crown you think you are making. You were set to go out ... Read more.
Myla, left, the author's daughter, with her toy mower. Photo provided. |
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Latin American women call MWC community to prayer
The Movement of Anabaptist Women Theologians in Latin America is inviting Mennonite World Conference (MWC) churches, and especially women's groups, to choose one day in May for prayer to focus on Latin American women.
The liturgy for 2011 was developed by sisters of the Mennonite churches in Guatemala. The focus for this year will be on Guatemala, Argentina, Cuba and Haiti. The liturgy is available in English and Spanish on the blog.
The Movement of Anabaptist Women Theologians in Latin America invites groups around the world who celebrate the day of prayer to send testimonials to: Rebeca Gonzalez and Ester Bornes. Let us know also at Mennonite Women USA if you or your women's group chooses a day in May for prayer.
Jeremiah 29: 12-13. "Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart."
Mennonite World Conference (MWC) is a global community of Christian churches rooted in the 16th-century Radical Reformation in Europe, particularly in the Anabaptist movement. Today, more than 1,600,000 believers belong to this faith family; more than 60 percent are African, Asian, or Latin American. MWC represents 99 Mennonite and Brethren in Christ national churches from 56 countries on six continents
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Prayer for the Journey
by Barb Ewy, Reedley, California
Resource Advocate for Pacific Southwest Conference
Based on John 20: 19-31
Sometimes, Lord, like Your disciples
we hover behind locked doors, afraid.
We fear the fury of wind and storm.
Images of earthquake and tsunami bring
sorrow and tears to our eyes.
We feel distant from our neighbor and we
fear our differences.
Wars and rumors of wars feed our distrust.
We are fearful for our future, our well-being,
our livelihood.
We need Your calming presence to stand
among us proclaiming
"Peace be with you"-
a greeting that breathes forgiveness and love.
Like Your disciples we look for proof of resurrection,
of hope, of life.
We look for joy when we feel sorrow;
we look for bread when we feel hunger;
we look for friendship and fellowship
when what we find is distance,
indifference, anger and violence.
We look for hope and trust,
for purpose in our living,
for passion that drives us,
for abundant life.
We wait for the breath of Your Spirit to blow upon us,
sending us forth boldly into the world
to proclaim with You, "Peace be with you;"
to share Your healing and hope with a world
that is broken, fearful, in need.
Jesus, stand among us in Your resurrection glory,
showing us the Father and filling us with Your Spirit.
May we come forth renewed and strengthened,
wounded healers following You along
the path that leads through death to life.
Amen.
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A Postcard & a Prayer is compiled by Mennonite Women USA staff Ruth Lapp Guengerich, Rhoda Keener, Patricia Burdette, Berni Kaufman, and Lois Loflin.
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Know of others who would like to receive "A Postcard & a Prayer" e-mails from Mennonite Women USA? Have them send name, address, and e-mail Berni. | |
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